☕ Lil Treasures #236: Weird Girls+ Throat Coat Tea

Plus Gossip Girl, freaking out and The Tipsy Eras Tour

PTL for a long holiday weekend, am I right?

Although it feels a little strange to be celebrating a country I’m having currently mixed feelings about (because of these unprecedented times, yada yada), I served up a few treasures that will go great with whatever you’ve got on the Fourth of July docket.

Onward, friends! Have the best weekend.

This week’s treasures:

🫶 We finally got served Season 3 of The Bear and I was so scared it wasn’t going to be good, but it really really was. These shirts for the Cousin Richie Eras Tour are perfect and I need one ASAP.

⛳ My love for Zac Efron grows, as news was just released that he completely improvised the song Bet On It from HSM2. Give that man his well-deserved Oscar!

😖 I very much needed these words of encouragement from Ben Cremer following a certain decision made by the Supreme Court this week.

🎸 Ready to get into your feels? Coldplay brought Michael J. Fox on stage to play Fix You with them at Glastonbury this past week.

👑 It’s a holiday week, and I love to take any opportunity to celebrate girlhood/sisterhood.

🍾 Maybe the purest thing I’ve seen recently is this Dad crying after everyone’s applause at the end of Champagne Problems.

🎤 NPR celebrated Black Music Month in June by releasing some of their best Tiny Desk concerts from black women artists, including this dazzler from SVW. It’s a must-watch!

🥤It’s very easy to fall into the cycle of despair- self soothe/medicate - circle back and spiral again - pattern these days, especially when there’s so many hard things happening worldwide, and we are now being launched into a messy political season. Every piece of breaking news is easily available, and we want to care! Just not this much! I really enjoyed reading Bonnie Morrison’s post: Is It Okay to Be Freaking Out Rn? and do recommend if you have any sort of complicated feelings with all that’s going on in this country (and the world).

🇺🇸 When you’re done reading Bonnie’s essay, I also put together some thoughts about how to be a Christian in America right now in a post called, “What flag will we plant in an empire of death?” This baby lives behind the paywall, so you can either join the club here or email me if you’d like to grab a free trial so you can read it!

🧵 This story about a museum docent tour and the importance of creating art is just so nostalgic and beautiful.

⛪ We’re talking all about Billy Graham over on this week’s episode of Faith Adjacent. Hear the whole backstory on Billy, and find out why he was considered “America’s Pastor”. As you’re headed home from the lake this weekend, cue up the episode here or wherever you get your pods!

💗 I highly encourage you to take these 10 rules for being loved and loving well to heart today.

✏️ A few summers ago, the Lil Swipes banded together and cleared a few Teacher Wishlists! It was so fun to see the impact of all chipping in together, and to be able to help a few of our finest educators stock their classrooms (with supplies they shouldn’t have to buy themselves, obviously). The number of wishlists became a little too overwhelming for this space, so unfortunately we had to put that project on the back burner for a bit. LUCKILY, a beautiful angel named Sarah Stair came up with the #clearthelist platform, where you can both give to a teacher in need via their Wishlist Finder or submit your own list here if you’re a teacher. Go browse the wishlists if you have a few minutes and help a few teachers get some books and supplies for their classroom!

🍺 I thoroughly enjoyed watching this guy who got tipsier each era of the Eras Tour. What a wild ride! Also, what a treat that Taylor left a comment! I would die.

🎸 Last but never least, don’t miss this post from my guy Andy Squyres and go see him in tour if he’s gonna be in your area this month!

A beautiful buffet of memes!

Enjoy your holiday weekend, friends! Be on the lookout for a very fun email from yours truly headed your way in the near future. 👀 See you in the comments!